Providence to Get Plan C for Highway Intersection Rebuild

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation will go out to bid on a design-build contract to reconstruct the Routes 6 and 10 interchange in Providence, with the hope of completing construction in four years. Some will remember what might have been.

1 minute read

September 15, 2016, 12:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


"Warning that further delay could put Rhode Islanders' safety at risk, Governor Raimondo Wednesday ordered a fast-tracked reconstruction of the Routes 6 and 10 interchange, knocking back dreams of an alternative to the maligned highway system," reports Patrick Anderson.

"The order scraps a $595-million capped highway design the R.I. Department of Transportation unveiled in March and called an 'innovative' approach indicative of a 'new DOT' that would help knit disconnected neighborhoods back together while keeping commuters moving," according to Anderson.

A much more progressive version of the plan, including capping the highway with parks, bike paths, new development, and potentially a mass transit line in the median, was announced in March. Two developments over the summer, however, scuttled those ambitions. The article includes more of the details delivered in a statement by Gov. Raimondo, as well as the unhappy responses from groups advocating for the previous, alternative plan. 

Wednesday, September 7, 2016 in Providence Journal

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